As I mentioned in the last newsletter, this month has been rocky to say the least. I’ve been navigating a lot of very big things which has turned my day to day upside down. Every time I attempt to reinstate some sort of routine or sit down to make any kind of plan, a wave of exhaustion hits and I feel like I need to take a nap. This can happen at any time of day, even an hour or two after I wake up. It requires me to pause what I’m doing to try to shake off the fatigue so I can keep going, which makes whatever I’m trying to accomplish take a lot longer.

What I assumed was burnout may actually be something called functional freeze. The “functional” part of it is the key. When experiencing functional freeze you’re still able to complete daily tasks, however everything is exhausting. You’re essentially on autopilot because you have to be.

Externally, I appear fine. I’m doing the dishes and grocery shopping, I’ve completed two very small client projects, I’ve met up with friends. However my screen time is through the roof as I spend a ridiculous amount of time bouncing between social media apps because everything else feels very overwhelming. I have infrequent bursts of energy that I try to lean into as much as I can so I can continue to accomplish daily tasks, however that likely just perpetuates the exhaustion because I’m pushing myself when I should be resting.